Lidl set to open in Rotherham on site of former fire station - and opposite Tesco

The site, opposite Tesco, was left empty when fire crews merged with South Yorkshire Police to use the force’s Byford Road base in 2017.

Lidl bosses say the plans will create around 40 full and part time jobs, and will “incorporate state of the art facilities including an in-store bakery, customer toilets and ample parking for both cars and bicycles”.

The scheme is recommended for approval at the next meeting of the council’s planning board on June 9. An officer report to members states that the proposed unit will be 1900sqm with a sales area of 1256sqm, along with 87 car parking spaces.

Vehicular and pedestrian access will be taken via High Street. The supermarket would create approximately 15 full time and 25 part time jobs, and the proposed opening hours are 8am-10pm Monday – Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

One letter of support was received, along with four letters of objection, states the report, in response to a press notice and 23 letters which were sent to nearby properties.

The letter of support considers that the store will “bring jobs along with a competitive range of products”.

Residents have also objected on the grounds of the new entrance posing “dangers to vehicles and pedestrians”; increased traffic and air pollution; “excessive” opening hours, and the potential impact on small businesses.

Maltby Town Council also objected to the scheme, on the grounds of increased levels of traffic and air pollution, safety risks at the access which is opposite Tesco; and alleges that a traffic survey was undertaken “during the Covid 19 lockdown”.

The report states that “the traffic survey data used in the TA [travel assessment] was obtained in May 2019 and represents traffic conditions pre-Covid lockdown and is therefore considered to provide a reasonable basis for the assessment.”

An objection has been received from MRPP consultants on behalf of Tesco Stores, based on “the lack of any up-to-date health check of town centre(s) by the applicant”, and “The erroneous basis upon which the applicant has assessed the likely retail impacts of their proposal, wrongly assuming that the proposal is in a town centre location”.

However, the officer report states that an updated Retail and Planning Statement was submitted, which took place in December 2021 and ” addressed the above concern and also the objection raised by Tesco.”

It adds that the new survey area, covering Maltby and the immediate surrounding area, “should be classified as the primary catchment area for the proposal”.

“Whilst the proposed Lidl store will offer direct competition to the Tesco store, the Tesco store stocks a wider variety of products which will mean that it is likely to remain a first choice grocery destination for many convenience goods products for the local community,” adds the report.

The report adds that: “the analysis of personal injury collisions indicates that there are no recurring patterns of accident causation factors or readily identifiable geometric road characteristics that appear to be having an adverse impact upon road safety.”

It states that level of nitrogen dioxide, measured in Maltby in 2019, were “were significantly lower than in some areas of the borough”

“It is considered that the development will not have an unacceptable impact on highway safety and the residual cumulative impact on the road network will not be severe.”